Physical description
Orpheus stands gazing upwards and leaning back sharply whilst playing the violin with complete abandon. At his feet sits the three-headed dog Verberus, guardian of Hades, who is captivated by by the magical sounds. Orpheus is hoping that the music will persuade the hell-hound to allow him to enter the underworld to find an bring back his wife Euridice.
Place of Origin
Netherlands (Amsterdam, made)
Date
ca. 1610-1615 (made)
Artist/maker
Hendrick de Keyser, born 1565 - died 1621 (maker)
Materials and Techniques
Bronze
Dimensions
Height: 35.8 cm object only, Height: 44.5 cm with base, Width: 17.6 cm, Depth: 19.3 cm object only, Depth: 23.6 cm with base, Weight: 6.64 kg
Object history note
The present object can be identified with the 'Orpheus with a dog with three heads by Mr. H.K. or '1 form with the dog with 3 heads with Orpheus by Mr. d.K' in the 1624 inventory of the Delft silversmith Thomas Cruse. Coll. Bassner, Danzig-Zopot, sale 19/11/1929, no. 98. Sale, Lepke, Berlin, 25-26/10/1932, no. 100. Coll. Lord Swansea; with Cyril Humphries, 1971. Bought by the museum in 1972.
Historical significance: In producing small-scale bronzes Hendrick de Keyser was following a distinctive mannerist formula, in particular comparisons may be made with the bronzes by Giambologna. The bronzes he made may have coincided with his work on the monumental tomb of William the Silent in the New Church in Delft, but they also convey Giambologna's principles and ideas relating to the North, although he was never part of the Florentine circle.
Historical context note
The bronze was certainly made for a collector. The close stylistic relationship to the the bronze figure of Mercury in the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, which is monogrammed and dated 1631 suggest an attribution to Hendrick de Keyser (1565-1621). The bronze was undoubtedly inspired by the marble statue with the same subject by the South Netherlandish sculptor Pietro Francavilla. This statue, dated 1598, and now in the Louvre, was taken - shortly after its cmpletion in Florence-to the Paris home of Gerolami Gondi, where it was installed at the centre of a fountain. Francavilla entered the service of Henry IV and Maria de ' Medici. Hendrick de Keyser may have made his acquaintance on a trip to Paris and seen the marble figure.
Descriptive line
Statuette, bronze, Orpheus and Cerberus, Hendrick de Keyser, North Netherlandish, ca. 1610-1615
Bibliographic References (Citation, Note/Abstract, NAL no)
Avery, C. 'Hendrick de Keyser as a sculptor of small bronzes' in Studies in European Sculpture, London, 1981, pp.175-187
Avery, C. H.F, 'Hendrick de Keyser as a sculptor of small bronzes', Bulletin van het Rijksmuseum, 1973, I, pp. 3-24, figs. 10 and 11.
Weihrauch, H.R.Enropäische Bronzestatuetten, Brunswick, 1967, fig. 436 and p. 361.
Honnens de Lichtenberg, H. Johan Gregor van der Schardt, Copenhagen, 1991, pp. 129-130, fig. 84, 85.
Exhibition History
'Von Allen Seiten Schön': Bronzen Der Renaissance und Des Barock (Altes Museum (Berlin) 29/10/1995-31/01/1996)
Christian IV and Europe (Royal Museum of Fine Arts 01/04/1988-30/09/1988)
Art in seventeenth century Holland (National Gallery (London) 01/09/1976-30/09/1976)
Dawn of the Golden Age. North Netherlandish Art 1580-1620 (Rijksmuseum 01/01/1993-31/12/1994)
Subjects depicted
Dog (animal); Musician; Violin; Orpheus; Cerberus
Categories
Sculpture
Collection code
SCP
